PDA

View Full Version : The joy of vintage notepads



penwash
June 17th, 2018, 10:15 PM
One of the best Estate Sale buy for me are vintage pads. These are old notepads that are usually fountain pen friendly, and on top of it, it has that worn paper look that I like for writing samples.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1761/41945507575_a0468f0d7a_c.jpg

Anybody else like these vintage notepads?

Jon Szanto
June 17th, 2018, 11:37 PM
Will, those are nice. If you ever build up a sizeable stash I'll buy some from you! A couple years back I had to clear out my parent's house. Dad had been gone for nearly eight years and the toughest part was dealing with his workshop in the garage. <sigh> Too many memories! But I came across about a half-dozen old steno pads that he used for drawing plans, making notes, etc, a few that hadn't been used at all. Really excellent to write on and a good size to throw in my bag.

Being me I couldn't bear a 'bare' cover so I've eventually put new cover graphics on them for fun. Here's one:


https://i.imgur.com/uuH295dh.jpg

penwash
June 18th, 2018, 07:57 AM
Wow, your cover looks great! And in your case, it's even more special because it's a legacy vintage notepads :)

The nice thing about finding these at Estate Sales is that they are pretty much a giveaway because no one else knew what to do with them. I wish these show up at a higher frequency around here locally.

FredRydr
June 18th, 2018, 09:59 AM
Wow! If the Texas school book depository discovers this, it may become a standard part of the curriculum.

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2018, 10:51 AM
https://i.imgur.com/cgMvIJxh.jpg

sfarkhan
June 18th, 2018, 11:18 AM
Where do you find these? They look fantastic!

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2018, 11:27 AM
Where do you find these? They look fantastic!

Will (OP) said he finds his notepads at estate sales. The ones I show are old steno pads that I've decorated. They are simply images I've found on the web, printed on my printed and pasted on the cover, maybe a little hand embellishing. Nothing fancy.

SIR
June 18th, 2018, 11:30 AM
Jon, have i ever told you you're a genius?

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2018, 11:32 AM
Jon, have i ever told you you're a genius?


https://i.imgur.com/mYsRANah.jpg

sfarkhan
June 18th, 2018, 11:38 AM
Where do you find these? They look fantastic!

Will (OP) said he finds his notepads at estate sales. The ones I show are old steno pads that I've decorated. They are simply images I've found on the web, printed on my printed and pasted on the cover, maybe a little hand embellishing. Nothing fancy.

Thanks, I missed that - Great find.

Sailor Kenshin
June 18th, 2018, 11:40 AM
LOVE vintage note pads, and loose paper. I have a small supply, some of which I inherited from Mom, some I bought at yard sales, and one or two of my old school notebooks that were only part-used. (Yes, that's how old I am: even my paper is vintage.)

I like them more than TRP or Rhodia.

FredRydr
June 18th, 2018, 11:42 AM
Google images: "little golden books" humor

penwash
June 18th, 2018, 04:02 PM
https://i.imgur.com/cgMvIJxh.jpg

My goodness Jon, that cover is so cool. Did you make it look aged digitally or by hand?

Either way, I want one!! :)

Rapidray
June 18th, 2018, 05:04 PM
I love what you did! Talk about customizing. Thanks for sharing.

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2018, 05:18 PM
My goodness Jon, that cover is so cool. Did you make it look aged digitally or by hand?

Either way, I want one!! :)

Will, I'm certain that cover (image) was already distressed. I don't know if someone created the image on their own or if it is a photo of an actual book cover, just can't remember.

Anyway, I'll take the three images I used on these notebooks and upload them later tonight in an Imgur album that I'll set to public, so any of you can download the image itself. I use a funky old photo/image printing program (remember when they were "programs" instead of "apps"?) and simply set the size of how large I want it to print; I didn't actually alter the images to fit the notebooks.

Sometimes just doing a google image search on random shit that comes into your head brings up the most interesting stuff... :D

Jon Szanto
June 18th, 2018, 10:35 PM
I've created an Imgur album with the above three images, which you can find right here. (https://imgur.com/a/NWwCu0k) As I find other interesting cover shots, I'll place them there. Let me know if you have any issues downloading the images.

Also, be mindful that the first two were images I found on the web and only did minor modifications. I don't believe they are copyright but I want to be clear. The Penguin I did with a meme generator...

Paddler
December 29th, 2018, 01:05 PM
I was cleaning in our attic and found a stack of old spiral notebooks from my college days. These had notes I took in the "inert filler" courses I had to take in order to become "well rounded". There was a lot of unused paper in these books, so I ripped out all the cruft I would never read again and sent it through our shredder. It will mulch a garden bed next summer. The books are from the late '60s and the paper is great for fountain pens. Not like the modern stuff that is all too common. I recently bought a new box of checks from my bank. The paper is so poor it could be used for blotters.

At a flea market, I found an old three-ring binder for 9 1/2 X 6 inch paper. It has cardboard and cloth covers and is made to look like leather ("fabrikoid binding"). The paper in it is exquisite. None of my inks bleed or feather on this paper. We used to see these binders in the dime store in the '50s and '60s and took them for granted.

Chrissy
December 29th, 2018, 03:22 PM
Thanks for the great ideas. :) I'm going to make myself something like this even though I don't have any vintage notepads. :)

mrJemes
February 27th, 2019, 01:17 AM
https://i.imgur.com/cgMvIJxh.jpg

My goodness Jon, that cover is so cool. Did you make it look aged digitally or by hand?

Either way, I want one!! :)

LOL :) The best notebook ever! :D

Sandy
June 18th, 2019, 05:03 PM
For folk in the UK, Silvline still make school exercise books, as they did in days of yor.

Wilco sells them for 99p. They come in A4 & standard school exercise book size.

They are very FP friendly. Ideal for drafting stuff - or carrying in a bag.

Deb
June 18th, 2019, 05:38 PM
I have one of those Silvine exercise books. Lovely paper. My husband says it's very similar to the ones he used in school 60 years ago.

SIR
June 20th, 2019, 07:51 AM
Google images: "little golden books" humor

Sauce! :)

https://i.imgur.com/nLyazWP_d.jpg

thirdtimelucky
July 14th, 2019, 09:26 AM
For folk in the UK, Silvline still make school exercise books, as they did in days of yor.

Wilco sells them for 99p.
Superb paper! I use mine all the time. Basically exactly the same as when I was a kid.
AND they're made just up the road from me in Yorkshire. The company sponsor basically everything in the town, they're very much a part of their community.
Lots of eBay/Amazon sellers do them in packs of 24 for about £12. Best deal in paper everywhere. I have a ginormous box of in case they ever decide to stop making them!

Jon Szanto
July 14th, 2019, 10:30 AM
This isn't strictly vintage, but in line with my earlier posts of modded pads, I came across a little 250-sheet notepad at Daiso that has paper that looks old and works very well with fps. It is now in arm's reach, and the plain brown cover has been... inspirationalized.

(BTW, that sweet pen is a Ryan Krusac "Legend" in California buckeye burl. I placed a Masuyama CI nib (from Franklin-Christoph) into the pen and have it inked with De Atramentis Fog Grey.)

https://i.imgur.com/3rb1YfB.jpg

Chrissy
July 15th, 2019, 12:49 AM
For folk in the UK, Silvline still make school exercise books, as they did in days of yor.

Wilco sells them for 99p. They come in A4 & standard school exercise book size.

They are very FP friendly. Ideal for drafting stuff - or carrying in a bag.
I bought 10 Silvine ruled A4 size pads as a bulk offer from Amazon.co.uk :) It's excellent, fountain pen friendly, paper.
If you don't mind what colour the covers are then I recommend you check out the cheapest price by selecting "lowest offer for each." :) I paid less than £7 for 10.

azkid
July 15th, 2019, 09:20 AM
I will have to try these out... For US they can be had for decent pricing also.